east coast. the debt limit will be reached by next thursday if no action is taken. the floor of the u.s. house here on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. we give you thanks, o god, for giving us another day. as you make available to your people the grace and knowledge to meet the needs of the day, we pray that your spirit will be upon the members of this people's house. giving them the richness of your wisdom. bless the members of the minority party as they prepare

to gather the end of this week. may they, with those who accompany them, travel safely and meet in peace. bless also the majority party as they will be returning to their constituencies. give them hearts and ears to listen well, to all those whom they represent. may the power of your truth and our faith in your providence give them all the confidence they must have to do the good work required for service to our nation. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 e journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question o'is on agreeing to the speaker -- the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the

journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the gentleman from rhode island. mr. cicilline: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from california, mr. huffman. mr. huffman: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the entlelady from florida rise? without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor matt cowdry on being named australia's 2013 multiclass swimmer of the year. matt is serving as a fellow in

my office as part of the uni capital -- uni capitol washington internalship program. matt is no stranger to success. he is the most decorated paraolympic at lead of all time in australia, having won 13 gold medals and 23 overall in athens, beijing and london. even though matt was born down under, he exemplifies the american spirit and is a testimony to the power of hard work and determination. matt, it's been wonderful having you be part of our congressional team and i look forward to hearing all about your future successes including from the pool in rio in 2016 and likely someday in the australian parliament. so congratulations, matt, once again on all of your amazing accomplishments. it's been great having you in our team. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise?

without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, five years ago tomorrow, continental flight crashed in western new york. mr. higgins: this was a tragedy that took so many good people far too soon and changed a community forever. the cause of the crash was found to be pilot and crew error, with fatigue being a contributing factor. and inspiring act of love, the families of those lost launched an impressive advocacy effort. drawing strength and purpose from their loss, they successfully convinced congress and the f.a.a. to enact landmark aviation safety reforms. their call for one level of safety has become a rallying cry for all of those who want to make sure that this kind of preventable tragedy is not visited upon other families and other communities. mr. speaker, today i and all of western new york stand in unity with the families of flight 3407. we feel their loss and express our sympathy to them. but we also stand in you a of

their commitment -- in awe of their commitment and tireless effort to work on behalf of chafflers everywhere. the entire american traveling public owes a debt of gratitude to these families who turned tragedy into purpose. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. recent c.b.o. estimates pricts that regulatory changes -- predict that regulatory changes created by obamacare will remove 2.3 million americans from the full-time work force. the president's gone to great lengths to spin this as a positive development, saying job losses will come as a result of people voluntarily choosing to pursue interests other than full-time work. it's true that all else being equal individuals and families being able to make ends meet while working less is a cause for celebration. the problem is that all else is not equal. we have a associate safety net

that depends on -- social safety net that depends on robust economic growth and is already forecast to run perpetual deficits for decades to come. no one disputes that 2.3 million lost jobs will diminish economic growth. for as love as i've been in congress, -- for as long as i've been this congress, republicans have been working to enact structural reforms to put our budget back in balance. last week's c.b.o. report makes those reforms even more urgent. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. madam speaker, in the aftermath of the great recession, congress established a consumer financial protection bureau for a very clear reason. to ensure that financial markets and services work for all americans. not just the big banks and best connected. today the cfpb makes sure that consumers get the information they need to make smart financial decisions on everything from mortgages to

credit cards to student loans. mrs. davis: today the house majority will introduce a purely partisan measure called the consumer financial protection, safety and soundness improvement act. well, that's a mouthful, if nothing else. but rather than improve the cfpb it would do precisely the opposite by undermining the independence and limiting its rulemaking authority. consumer protections could be scrapped. we must not repeat the same costly mistakes that put our economy in a freefall of the great recession. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today in recognition of national marriage week. every year in the lead up to valentine's day, we recognize the importance of the institution of marriage and the stability it brings to the american household.

married couples lead longer lives, have greater financial and emotional stability and are healthier and generally happier than their unmarried counterparts. however, only 52% of adults in america are married today. mr. bryne: a steep decline from 80% in 1970. children who grow up in a two-parent household generally perform better in school, stay out of trouble and are on track to live a healthier and happier life. yet today over 40% of babies are born out of marriage, compared to only 5% in 1960. i've been married to my wife rebecca for 33 years. we've enjoyed raising our four wonderful children, the oldest of whom is now married himself. i believe promoting the positive benefits of marriage is important for the happiness, stability and well-being of the next generation. i'm proud to recognize national

marriage week and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: madam speaker, just a few minutes ago i left the house judiciary committee, discussing asylum for abusing america's compassion, a hearing that was called by the republican ma scrort. madam speaker, i adhere -- majority. madam speaker, i adhere to following the law. but i believe as we approach the 50th year of the 1964 civil rights act, we will see more and more voices being raised for the indignity and lack of human rights on not passing comprehensive immigration reform. let me remind my colleagues that the refugee act, the asylum act, wases signed by president reagan in 1980 and it reflects america's values, reflecting this country's deep-seeded commitment to liberty and human kig i -- dignity as well as a pledge under the refugee conventions protocol to save thoses who have been abused or sexually abused or children who have

been subject to violence or families that have been subject to violence. let's get on with the values of this nation. let's pass comprehensive immigration reform. let's restore the values of this country, provide lawses to secure all of our borders, but -- laws to secure all of our borders, but yet continue to have these hearings, suggesting that those of us who claim and cry out for immigration reform do not understand the law. let me be very clear. coming from a border state, madam speaker, i understand the law. let's pass comprehensive immigration reform. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to honor u.s. army veteran john karr who is recognized as illinois' january veteran of the month. enlisting in 1969 during the vietnam war, john was wounded in action, medically retired in 1972. for his service, john received the bronze star, the army commendation medal and a purple heart, among others. john didn't know what was in

store upon leaving the service, but when he saw an ad to transport other veterans to the hospital, he signed up. mr. hultgren: he then joined the cane county veterans' assistance commission as the hospital case worker and was elected as superintendent. he retired last february after nearly four decades of service to his fellow veterans. my staff is proud to have worked alongside john to help illinois veterans navigate the federal benefits system. constituents regularly told us how john helped anxious veterans or spouses receive their well-deserved benefits. thank you, john, for your service to our country and to the men and women like you who have made sacrifices to defend it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. sires: madam speaker, i rise today to address the issue of jobless in america. the simple way to enhance america is continued investment in career technical education

or vocational schools. not every child's career path takes them through a four-year college. it's necessaries to provide opportunities for them to learn skills to apply for a job, either right after graduation or through further certification. career technical education teaches general employment skills and teaches skills requiring specific occupations or careers. it can provide young people with confidence to focus on career paths, many occupations taught at vocational schools are high in demand, such as nursing, culinary arts, engineering technology. our labor market is evolving and placing greater emphasis on high-tech skills. to ensure vocational training keeps pace with these changes, we should encourage private industry to partner with vocational schools to identify emerging job markets and have students trained to fill these jobs. by investing in career technical education, we can ensure that more americans have secure career opportunities after graduation. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from indiana rise? >> thank you, madam speaker. i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. there's almost nothing uncle sam won't tax. you get hit at the growsesry store, the gas pump, your paycheck, you even get taxed when you die. now is the world's -- now, as the world's eyes are on sochi, uncle sam's eyes are on yet another way to collect. u.s. olympians. believe it or not, our men and women who bring home the gold, silver and bronze are taxed on the value of the medals they earn in their minimal winnings, while representing our country on the world stage. mr. messer: that's not ok. competing on the u.s. olympic team is an achievement that should be celebrated, not taxed. that's why i've co-sponsored the tax exemptions for american medalist act. it prevents olympic athletes from having to pay taxes on their winnings.

a federal government shouldn't penalize them for performing at their best. we need broad-based tax reform. in the meantime, i encourage my support this act and end this tax on our olympians. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, there was a deeply troubling story this sunday in "the new york times" entitled "the end of snow" and like all of you, i have been cheering on our olympians in sochi, particularly in the snow-related events. but as the article notes, climate change is threatening the very concept of winter olympics and snow sports in general. current models project seven-degree rise in global mperatures by the year 2100, leaving winters drier. mr. huffman: 19 cities that have hosted winter olympics might still be cold enough by

2050 to host them again. warmer winters and less snow will be disastrous to the united states' $66 billion ski industry. until this weekend, california had just 12% of its average snow. thankfully it snowed in the sierras, bringing some needed relief. but one snowstorm in california and another on the east coast does not solve our bigger, long-term climate crisis. climate change will impact our lives in every way. let's get to work. let's do -- reduce greenhouse gases and reduce the impacts of climate changes change. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. harris: madam speaker, the train wreck of the president's health care reform just continues. this week there have been two developments. the first one, the c.b.o. announcing their study that shows that 2.5 million full-time

equivalent, that is jobs, will be eliminated from the economy by obamacare. and yesterday the president finally recognized that obamacare infact destroys jobs and will delay the bill's mandate to buy insurance, but only for corporations, not for hardworking american families. madam speaker, you don't get to keep your policy, you don't get to keep your doctor, now you don't get to keep your job. america deserves better. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i'd luke to talk about the twin prime numbers, twin primes are two prime numbers separated by a single number, like 11 and 1, or 17 and 19. the question is, are there an infinite number of twin primes? it was the general consensus of the mathematical community until

recently that that question was beyond the capability of our current mathematical community, however, there have been some study advances on this problem in the last few years. mr. mcnerney: in particular, last may with the help of an online collaborative project, mathematicians pioneered new methods for addressing this problem with the huge breakthrough from tom zang at the university of new hampshire. we now know there are an infinite number of prime number pairs separated by amounts smaller than 270. while the twin prime problem itself is still unsolved, mathematicians are hopeful that this year they can reduce the separation from 270 to less than 100. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from missouri rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of the a-10 and air support for our war

fighters. hundreds of brave americans are alive today because of the performance of the a-10 in iraq and afghanistan. mrs. hartzler: i agree with the army chief of staff who said in a hearing, the a-10 is the best close air support platform we have today. even air force chief of staff has said the a-10 is the best airplane in the world at what it does. the air force should not retire he a-10 before the replacement reaches full capability, otherwise it will result in a close air support gap that will put our ground troops at increased risk. there is no greater responsibility than ensuring our men and women in uniform have the support they need to accomplish their missions and return home safely. premature divestment of the a-10 by the air force would create a dangerous close air support capability gap that could unnecessarily endanger american service members in future

conflicts. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: i rise today in support of raising the minimum wage and passing h.r. 1010, the fair minimum wage act. which would give approximately 28 million americans an overdue pay raise, promote economic growth, and strengthen the middle class. in america if you work hard and play by the rules you should be able to provide for your family and provide them with a decent quality of life. but for about 4.6 million americans living in poverty, this is not the case. it's been five years since those working for the minimum wage have seen an increase in the minimum wage, and according to one study, the minimum wage today is worth $2 less than in 1968. this is shameful. and we have the responsibility to address dwoge income inequality by increasing the minimum wage immediately. unfortunately, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose this commonsense legislation arguing that it will hurt jobs. but as "the new york times" noted this past weekend, this position is contrary to decades

of economic research that shows increases in minimum wage have lifted pay without hurting employment. americans deserve a raise and raising the minimum wage will help protect u.s. works e. grow our economy, and build ladders to the middle class. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. yoder: madam speaker, each day americans use new and more common technology to communicate with each other, to read online, share photographs, shop and purchase goods, do their banking, and countless everyday tasks. in this new tech age americans live their lives online. yet the federal government acts as if these communications are not subject to fourth amendment protections. the i.r.s. has claimed americans, quote, do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, quote, when it comes to their emails being read by the federal government. thousands of americans are joining together today in an effort to bring awareness to

some of the unconstitutional and intrusive surveillance practices of our united states government. february 11 is the day we fight back. it's a reminder that law-abiding americans have certain expects of privacy guaranteed in our constitution that our government cannot unreasonably search and seize our personal property, including electronic property, without just cause. that's why i'm a lead sponsor of the email privacy act which will apply the same fourth amendment protections to the electronic communication as the paper documents in your home file cabinet. let's pass this bipartisan bill, draw clear lines -- the speaker pro tempore: the entleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam chair -- madam speaker. two weeks ago president obama stood in this chamber and addressed the nation declare 2014 as the year of action. mrs. beatty: a year of action to

put more americans back to work and continue to make sure that middle class families across the country are secure in their jobs and homes. a year of action to continue fighting for equal pay, for equal work in order to strengthen the american family and assure fairness in the workplace for women. a year of action to understand that when women succeed america succeeds. just today i witnessed in the 100 years of the federal reserve, to have a female come before us. a year of action to make sure that american students can have dreams and that they can have an affordable education. we must understand that we must work together. democrats, madam speaker, are doing their part. we invite our republican colleagues to understand we need a year of action. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> request unanimous consent to

address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. madam speaker, today i rise to honor national court reporting and captions week taking place from february 16 to february 22ed in. a week that serves to recognize the value and importance that court reporters and captioners have made in american society. as a lawyer who has spent over 25 years as a litigator, i have profound respect and appreciation for those who preserve the official record. mr. ross: court reporters, broadcast captioners, and communication access real time translation, or cart captioners, souf an integral role in my home state of florida and throughout the united states. in fact, florida has a particularly vibrant court reporting economy, my cousin has been one for over 35 years. they have over 400 small business owners in florida, 1,300 court reporters and captioners, and three court reporting programs which will help fulfill the needs of an industry, and that industry that

the bureau of labor statistics predicts will grow 10% by 2022. that is why i'm happy to join the national court reporters association and commemorating the week from february 16 to february 22 as national court reporting and captions week. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: thank you, madam speaker. every february we have the opportunity to celebrate black history month by honoring the great achievements and contributions of african-american leaders who have courageously pushed boundaries and moved our country forward in the name of justice and equality. it's an honor for me today to mention some of the great leaders from los angeles who have made black history. tom bradley from los angeles, the first african-american to be mayor of los angeles. great leaders like merv dimely, the first african-american lieutenant governor of california. congress won juanita

millender-mcdonald, the first african-american woman to chair the house administration committee. asia brown, the first african-american female mayor of compton. and my colleague, congresswoman karen bass, the first black woman to be speaker of any state legislature in u.s. history. this year is the 50th anniversary of the passage of the civil rights act, but this milestone should be a reminder of the work that still needs to be done. we can't forget that for many americans a promise of civil rights and equality remains unfulfilled. so today and every day, let us reaffirm our commitments. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from florida rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today to urge the house speaker and the republican leadership to take up the bipartisan flood insurance bill as soon as possible. miss cassor: hardworking

families all a -- ms. castor: hardworking families all across america are facing exorbitant increases in their flood insurance rate. this is harmful to their economic security and is really putting a damper on the economic recovery in communities across the country. we need the congress to fix this. after the reform bill was passed last session, no one imagined these exorbitant increases in flood insurance rates. the best course of action right now is to take up the bipartisan senate-passed flood insurance bill that passed on january 30. we can work on this together, but we need action now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii rise? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. hanabusa: thank you, madam speaker. february 14 is valentine's day, a great commercial event. but what is it that women really

want for valentine's? it may differ for each of us, but i believe we can all agree on one thing, we want equality. women want equal pay for equal work. women want equal access to health care, not paying more for our health care premiums, not having pregnancy defined as a pre-existing condition, and not having decisions as to our body made for us by the denial of contraceptive services. women want to be treated as political equals, recognized for the work we do. what we have contributed, not looked upon as second class citizens, not deemed less somehow because our right to vote is less than 100 years old, and our great country will be celebrating its 238th birthday. we want what we have earned. equality. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado -- hold a minute.

mr. polis: rise to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: madam chair, today unfortunately we commemorate the two millionth deportation under president obama. president obama continues to tear families apart by deporting noncriminal immigrants to our country who want nothing more than to make our country stronger, grow our economy, and raise their american families. but the president can bring an end to deportations, even if this body doesn't act, the president can stop deporting noncriminal detainees. if somebody's violated our criminal laws, they should suffer the consequences of their crimes. if their only crime was trying to make a better life for them selves in our great country, just as our own forebearers did, just as my great grandparents did, we should welcome them to help make our country stronger, create jobs for americans, and

grow our economy. madam chair, it's time for this body to act, absent this body acting on comprehensive immigration reform, i encourage the president to stop deporting noncriminal aliens. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. without objection. >> in 1788, over 225 years ago, james madison wrote these words, it will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice. if the laws be so voluminous they cannot be read or so incoherent they could not be understood, if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated or undergo such changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow. mr. wenstrup: oh, how relevant these remarks are today. off-the-cuff changes and delays to the affordable care act without property legislative authority confuse and confound

the american individuals and businesses alike. we are formed as a nation of laws, laws crafted by representatives of the people. american achieved great things by adhering to the principles of our legal framework. the fundamental genius of the american republic came from the simple yet absolute affirmation that we as a nation operate by rule of law, law crafted by the many not the one. . madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on february 11, 2014, at 11:05 a.m. that the senate passed senate

1954. appointments, washington's farewell address. signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. sessions: madam speaker, by direction on the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 475 ass and ask for its immediate -- and ask for its immediate consideration. the clerk: house calendar number 84, house resolutions 475. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill, h.r. 3193, to amend the consumer financial protection act of 2010, to strengthen the review authority of the financial stability oversight council of regulations issued by the bureau of consumer financial protection, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with.

all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in this section and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on financial services. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five minute d rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five minute d rule -- five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 113-36, modified by the amendment printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order

printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration, the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendment thereto to final passage without intervenings motion, except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, on any legislative day during the period from february 13, 2014, through

february 24, 2014, a, the general of the proceedings of the -- the journal of the proceedings of the previous day shall be considered as approved and, b, the chair may at any time declare the house adjourned to meet at a date and time within the limits of clause 4, section 5, article 1 .f the constitution the speaker may ask members to perform the duties of the chair for the duration addressed by the resolution, though under clause 8-a of rule 1, section 4 , the requirement of clause 6-a of rule 13 for a 2/3 vote to consider a report from the committee on rules on the same day it is presented to the house is waived. with respect to any resolution reported through the legislative day of february 12, 2014, providing for consideration or disposition of a measure relating public debt

limits. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one hour. mr. sessions: madam speaker, thank you very much for the -- thank you very much. for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, my colleague and my friend, mr. polis, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. for consideration of this resolution, all time is yielded for the purpose of debate only. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise nd extend their remarks. house resolution 475 provides for a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 3193. this rule makes in order every amendment that complies with house rules, giving house members of the majority and the minority ample opportunity to participate in today's debate. the legislation before us today takes important steps to restore transparency,

accountability and effective oversight in our federal regulatory process. established in 2010, under the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act, the consumer financial protection bureau known as cfpb is granted the authority to regulate the financial services industry in an effort to limit bad actors and protect consumers from fraud and abuse. unfortunately by design, no mistake, the cfpb has virtually zero congressional oversight. limited judicial review, and unilateral ability to promulgate any rule or regulation it deems appropriate. in essence, it is wholly unaccountable to the american people and to the united states

congress. the en and women who buy constitution of the united states have the authority and the sponlt to represent the -- responsibility to represent the american people through elected office. this is not how our government is meant to operate. but this is what former speaker nancy pelosi and house democrats desperately wanted, control of the financial rvices industry by one person, one person who answers solely to the president of the united states. i have heard from numerous community bankers in texas, madam speaker, i am from dallas, texas, and proud to say that dallas, texas, is home to community bankers who understand that they are on the frontlines of new -- a new regulatory regime. and not just community bankers, all bankers and those covered under financial services regulations.

accounts of the inpadget -- impacts stemming from the new cfpb rules are startling. specifically they have told me that the cfpb's new regulations regarding qualified mortgages will significantly increase borrowing costs and considerably reduce the number of available mortgages. sounds familiar, doesn't it? sounds like something that the democrats concocted to make sure that health care was in trouble so they could show up with the answer of the affordable care act, which is implied in its name. they are doing exactly to financial services what the democrats did to health care in this country. and bankers and financial services industry understands this. in a time when americans are looking to the federal government simply to promote an

increased public sector investment in our economy and to allow the free enterprise system to flourish up to and including offering more jobs, stable opportunity for meaningful capital, instead we see washington bureaucrats literally at the head, one person at the head of the organization who can make all these decisions. handing down new rules and regulations which i believe do the exact opposite of making it easier, safer and better to grow jobs and to have americans be a competitive marketplace. the bill before us today is not about deregulation. it is about appropriate, balanced regulation with ideas that come from not just the committee of financial services , led by our great young chairman jeb hensarling, but perhaps more importantly, ideas that coincide with other large

government agencies. where it is a bipartisan effort, not by a particular head of one organization. while the american people do need protection from bad actors in the financial services industry, they also need protection, i believe, from an activist government that unilaterally dispenses burdensome and needless regulations which negatively impact not only our economy, but the industry that helps provide needed capital, jobs, and enrichment of the american financial services industry, which is a part of the free enterprise system. madam speaker, i'm sure you're familiar with obamacare's independent payment advisory board known as ipab. yes, it is the one body of unelected bureaucrats which rations health care and makes

decisions, once again, without judicial or congressional oversight on america's seniors. and just as ipab restricts choices in the health care sector, so too do unelected bureaucrats at the cfpb. they restrict choices in the financial sector. they are trying to choke off the free enterprise system as a result of rules and regulations that become burdensome and so people quit offering their services. by regulating the types of credit cards, mortgages or loans that americans can get, the cfpb makes unilateral decisions regarding what types of financial tools americans can use. the american people, i believe, something s as better from washington as opposed to this which is a one-size-fits-all approach from washington, d.c.

that's why i support h.r. 3193. it brings much-needed balance to the cfpb by replacing the loan director with a five-member commission, to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. similar to other financial regulators so that no one person can unilaterally determine regulations which impact millions of americans and has little oversight by our courts or by congress. additionally, as an independent agency housed in the federal reserve today, the cfpb is not subject to appropriation. they are a mandatory spending item as a result of what president obama and house and senate democrats have done. by restoring this important check and balance, congress needs to make sure that we appropriate the money that they should use. and we -- it will ensure that

the cfpb acts as intended and does not continue to impose economic devastating regulations on the american economy. to have no oversight and no authority for the money that they spend, i believe, is a misuse of the way we would want a government agency to work, whether you're a republican or democrat, we shubbed for serving at the pleasure of the american people, not the reverse therein. finally, this legislation takes important steps to protect americans' personal, nonpublic information. yesterday up in the rules committee, we heard testimony from chairman jeb hensarling of dallas, texas, that the cfpb currently maintains over 900 million credit card records. that's right. the n.s.a. of financial services. that's exactly what the cfpb is. and such an immense amount of

private data held by the federal government presents ample opportunity for misuse. madam speaker, i do not believe that they should have this information and i believe they should immediately recuse themselves of gaining this information. h.r. 3193 will ensure that americans are protected by requiring expressed written consent from the cfpb before they can obtain, access, collect, use or disclose any personal, nonpublic information. i think it is dangerous to have a government agency with this type of power, information, and as we have seen from the i.r.s. , a misuse of personal information and data that has become an abuse of power. this bill will require that the cfpb assert in writing how that

information will be used and to request it. madam speaker, the american people are tired of the obama administration's blatant disregard for the laws which govern our great nation. just yesterday we witnessed once again president obama's willingness to do whatever he wants when he unilaterally delayed the employer mandate of the health care bill by one year. instead of giving all americans relief from the affordable care act known as obamacare, the administration has single-handedly picked winners and losers, by the way, on behalf of business as opposed to individuals. . just as the president has done with health care, there is nothing to prevent the cfpb from following suit and unilaterally deciding who will be subject to crushing regulation and who will not. that is why h.r. 3193 is so

important. madam speaker, we are on the floor today because we are talking about what literally is a big government action that was done several years ago by the president of the united states, by the former speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, and by senate majority leader harry reid. republicans understand that big government not only is costly and expensive, but that some people want them to control our lives. freedom, in fact, madam speaker, is worth fighting for. so republicans are here today on the floor to balance that tilt in favor of freedom, opportunity, and for the right of their own person, an individual in this nation to know if your government is collecting your financial records. and you have a right to know that. that is another reason why republicans are pleased to say

today, we are talking about very, very important issues to every single american. it's more than freedom. it is a rule of law. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the rule and yes on the underlying legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: madam speaker, i rise in opposition to the rule and underlying bill, h.r. 3193. this package of bills was brought under a restrictive process that prevented efforts from members on both sides of the aisle from improving the legislation. h.r. 3193 would gut the consumer financial protection bureau. a lot has been said by the gentleman from texas that i believe is mischaracterized what the consumer financial bureau actually does. it in no way restricts our

freedoms, madam speaker. in fact banks aren't the only entities, american consumers have freedom, too. american consumers want to be protected from predatory practices, madam speaker. how many of us have signed a credit card agreement or -- read the font size, too small to even read, we want to be sure people aren't giving away their home and livelihood when they enter into a credit card agreement, a simple loan, or other financial transactions. the american people want that certainty. we are talking about making sure that markets operate well, that competition exists in the consumer financial marketplace, the people have different financial options that empower them selves, there needs to be a referee on the field. this bill effectively blindfolds and handcuffs that referee, takes her off the field, and lets the banks have their day

with the american people. that's why i oppose this bill. this bill will not advance a constructive economic agenda. this bill will not address our broken immigration system and won't secure our borders as hundreds of people enter our country illegally every day. it won't reunite shattered families. earlier today i spoke of how under president obama's administration over two million people have now been deported from this country. this bill will not end that. instead of moving forward, it blindfolds the referee and ensures that predatory financial institutions can take advantage of the american people without a watchdog. this bill has serious flaws. it would add additional bureaucracy to consumer financial protection bureau, replacing a director with a

commission. the gentleman from texas said somehow this bill meant that there wasn't big government, this bill establishes more big government, more commissions rather than having -- guess how most private companies are run, madam speaker? there's usually a c.e.o. in charge. they don't have some director or commission. it sounds more like the soviet union than the united states of america what the republicans are proposing in this bill. this bill would also prevent the consumer financial protection bureau from offering salaries or benefits to employees that are competitive with other financial regulators. guess what, madam speaker? the financial industry pays well. the big banks pay well. that's wonderful. that's the beauty of the capitalist system, they are creating value, working for a big bank, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in our market economy, that's wonderful. guess what? if you want somebody who understands that business to be able to work on behalf of the american people as a watchdog, you need to pay a competitive

salary. to make sure that they are able to then use their expertise that they have developed in the private sector to protect their fellow americans from predatory or scrupulous activities. this bill would impede the ability to attract and retain qualified and experienced people that have to handle very complex regulatory issues. it would also eliminate the down sumer financial protection bureau's independence and parity with other regulators by subjecting it to the appropriations process. sadly last night during the rules debate one of my colleagues on the rules committee equated the down sumer financial protection bureau to the -- consumer financial protection bureau to the gestapo. that's insulting to the civil servants who work for them, consumers it serves, and extremely offensive to the true victims of nazi germany. it's inappropriate to even compare the intentions of the

u.s. government, whether it's led by democrats or republicans, to those of adolf hitler and nazi germany. the consumer financial protection bureau has played a crucial role in helping mns of americans become more informed and empower them to make financial choices that benefit them and their families. for instance, at a time we know that higher education in college are more important than ever, the cost of higher education continues to skyrocket. the consumer financial protection bureau has developed a website that helps students understand their borrowing options before they take on substantial debt, make sure they are aware of the lowest interest rates they can use to financial their education. the user friendly tools allow families to compare financial aid and college costs, choose a loan with a low interest rate, select a repayment terms that are most fair ball to them -- favorable to them. as the largest student loan lender, the federal government should help make sure that students have the information

they need to help take control of their financial destinies. i was honored to work with the consumer financial protection bureau on my act which would inform them about their eligibility for federal loans before they take out more costly, higher interest rate loans. while i hope the congress would pass this bill, the consumer financial protection bureau also hopes to advance its important cause even without legislation. this bill on the floor today would hamper their ability to prevent students from paying more than they need to for their college education. now, democrats are opened to improving the consumer financial protection bureau through bipartisan proposals, unfortunately the house majority has shunned bipartisanship in favor of these bills. we can do better, madam speaker. the american people want to make sure there's a referee, that there's a watchdog. we want to make sure that our

banking industry and financial services industry can continue to grow and flourish in this country. one of the most important factors and success of that industry is the confidence the american people have in the financial services industry to be fair and honest. the establishment of the consumer financial protection bureau helps ensure that the american people are confident in the financial products being marketed by banks across the country and lead to continued job growth in the financial services industry which america is a leader in both here and abroad. let's talk for a moment about what we are not discussing under this rule, madam speaker. we are not taking one step, one inch towards fixing our broken immigration system, a huge drag on our economic growth. many residents of our country that are living here illegally in the shadows of the under ground economy simply want to

work. they want to pay taxes. they want to raise their american kids here. they want to raise a family. they want to participate in the same american dream that welcomed my great grandparents when they came to this country. the house republicans' principles on immigration reform were a step forward. i applaud them. they were promising. there was nothing in those principle that is was mutually inconsist tent with a democratic desire to-- inconsistent with our democratic desire to secure our borders, create a law enforcement environment where we know who is here, and make sure we can have a compassionate approach to uniting families. nearly a year ago the new democrat coalition, immigration task force, released detailed principles as well. i'm proud to say last october democrats and republicans joined together to introduce a bipartisan bill, h.r. 15, on comprehensive immigration reform. the bill creates jobs, reduces our deficit, secures our borders, and reflects our values as americans.

yet to date the only immigration vote in this congress that the house has had was a vote to defund the deferred action program which allows dreamers to finally get to work and pay taxes to make our country stronger, and instead subject the dreamers to deportation at taxpayer expense. we can and we must do better. this rule and this bill simply doesn't do it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, at this time i'd like to yield seven minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, a member of the financial services and budget committee, he is not just the author of the bill, he is an awesome and outstanding new member of congress, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. duffy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for seven minutes. mr. duffy: thank you, madam speaker. mr. chairman, thank you for yielding.

just to be clear, the bill that is before the house today is not a repeal bill of the cfpb, it is a modification, a reform package to the cfpb. so that my colleagues and friends across the aisle talk about how there will be no consumer protection, that's absolutely false. we just want to make sure the consumer financial protection bureau works better and is more responsive to the american people. so i want to talk about a few of the things that this bill does. the first thing, it moves the director of the cfpb over to a bipartisan commission of five. now, i know my friends across the aisle have taken issue with this. however, when the cfpb was originally envisioned by the house democrats and former chairman, barney franc, they didn't have a sing the director, they actually had a -- single

director, they actually had a commission. when liz liz warren, now senator warren, envisioned this package, it wasn't a director, it was a commission. now that my friends across the aisle take issue with the reform package that has a commission and not a director, it was their original idea. so let's not play partisan politics, let's join together on points of agreement, and this is one of them. another concern, the consumer financial protection bureau is not responsive to congress because it doesn't get its funding from congress. it doesn't go through the appropriations process which gives us great oversight here in the house. their funding comes from the federal reserve. we think it's appropriate when you have an agency that is so powerful and so unaccountable that we give the elected members of the american people power to say how much money they should have and how they should use it. we don't have that ability right

now. who on god's green earth says he we should take power away from congress and let them set their own budgets? going to the point of unaccountability, the consumer protection financial bureau, they set their own pay. where in the free market system does any employee tell the employer this is what you're going to pay me? i'm setting my own pay. now that's what they do at the consumer financial protection bureau. what we say is we the congress, the elected representatives of the american people, we should set the pay of the consumer financial protection bureau. commonsense reforms that actually work for the american people and, frankly, it will work for the cfpb, making them far more accountable. the way this bill is set up, the

way the law is set up, big banks on wall street, the very big banks that caused the financial crisis, they are able to actually go, have consumer financial protection rules reviewed by fsoc and if they think that the rule as petitioned by big banks can create systemic risk, the rule can be overturned. so big banks on wall street, they get a voice. they get to go, this is bad for us. overturn the rule. but if you come from rural wisconsin where we only have small community banks and credit unions, and you see one of our small financial institutions going to fsoc saying this rule is bad for us, please overturn the cfpb rule, they are going to laugh them out of fsoc. they don't have a voice. . small fm institution, credit

unions and small banks don't have a choose to go to fsoc and have a rule overturned by the cfpb. but the way you wrote the -- mr. speaker, the way the law was written and the way it's been implemented is that they've given a big, loud voice to wall street banks. but have shut out the small and credit ks unions that are all over america, the very banks and institutions that lend money to our families, the very institutions that are our small businesses on main street america they go to and say, will you give me a loan so i can expand d -- so i can expand my business, maybe provide an extra job or two in america. those are the ones that have been shut out and the review process from the cfpb. that doesn't work for consumers. that doesn't hurt consumers. that actually helps consumers. and that helps smalltown america. one of the most important portions of this reform bill,

and again it's a reform bill, it's not a repeal bill, is what we do in regard to data. america has recently learned that the n.s.a. is collecting phone data and information on them and keeping it. now, americans have said, listen, i'm ok with at&t or verizon, whoever my phone company is, that they have my records. but the american people have never given the american government permission to take their phone records. and when they heard about it, they were outraged. they were outraged. and i know that my friends across the aisle are supportive of this expanse of n.s.a., they're in support of a big government taking information on americans, but most americans say no. we don't want that kind of relationship between the american citizenry and our government. and just like the n.s.a., the consumer financial protection

bureau is collecting financial data on the american citizenry. they're collecting information on almost one billion credit cards. i'll say it again. the consumer financial protection bureau is collecting data and information on almost one billion credit cards. and i would ask, do you think they've asked permission of the american people to take their financial data? absolutely not. all we ask for in this reform bill is, if you want to take america's financial information and you say that you're here to protect the american citizenry, well, why don't you ask them? ask if you can take it. because i guarantee i know what they're going to say. they're going to say no way. i'm ok with my bank having this information. my credit union having this

information. but i'll be darned if i want some agency that says they're here to protect me collecting my financial information and my financial records. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i'd like to give the gentleman four additional minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman may continue. mr. duffy: collecting information. from the american people on their phone records. is one thing. knowing who you call and when you call them. it is something far different, mr. speaker, when you see how they spend, where they spend, when they spend. you want to know about america? take their financial records. and so all we say in this reform package is, give them a choice. if you're here to protect them, ask them. and say, we want to take your financial data information. are you ok with that?

if you're here to protect the consumer, why wouldn't you ask them? we mandate, we require the cfpb to make that ask. and there's an important reason behind it. because, as many folks in this body understand, that in politics you can get a good representation of the whole by sampling data. taking a small, small segment of the whole and getting a representation of the whole body. and that's what the cfpb could do if they want good market data on how things are working. because i do think they need data. they need information. but that's not what they're doing. they're not sampling, they're taking almost a billion credit cards and the information from those. and, mr. speaker, they don't keep that information for a month, they don't want to keep it for a year. they want to keep your financial data for over 10

years. they want to keep your financial data for over 10 years. this is unacceptable. and for my colleagues across the aisle to say that the consumer financial protection bureau is only protecting consumers and there's no need for reform is a misstatement. there is plenty of room for reform and a very powerful, very unaccountable agency that's accessing the financial information from americans in a way that they would find unacceptable. and so as we debate this rule, i hope that my friends across the aisle will see the pure-hearted spirit and effort that has been made to actually make the cfpb more effective and more accountable to the consumer. and so with that i would yield back and i thank the gentleman from texas for offering me the time. mr. sessions: we reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: before i further

yield, i want to clarify, the consumer financial protection bureau is already prohibited from collecting personally identifiable information in the course of its market monitoring responsibilities to make sure that american consumers are not taken advantage of. i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, how quickly do some forget. when congress created the consumer financial protection bureau, we did so on behalf of every constituent unfairly defrauded during the financial crisis. as a cook county commissioner in 2007, i remember the financial crisis and the damage it did to chicago's communities. i remember when your credit card rate was about how well you could read fine print, not how regularly you paid your bill. i remember when auto financing could be based on a whim, not your credit history. and when homebuyers were pushed into loans no one could ever expect them to repay. i remember when it was open season on our veterans, when a

whole industry was defrauding our returning sons and daughters. but i also remember how many of my colleagues characterized the creation of the cfpb, calling it a bureaucratic thing that would devastate credit markets and make lending impossible. yet here we are today with a growing economy and a vibrant credit market. only now we do it with fair practices, protecting american consumers and treating them with dignity. so i reject this attempt today to undermine the cfpb and the progress it made. we simply can't afford to return to the free-for-all that existed pre-crisis. h.r. 3193 is a either a bad case of congressional amnesia or an attack on the most important financial reform of a generation. either way, it is ill-sighted and i urge my colleagues to defeat this effort. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield two minutes

to the gentleman from illinois, mr. snyder. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. schneider: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from colorado for yielding time. i rise today in opposition to h.r. 3193. congress created the consumer financial protection bureau in response to a regulatory system that couldn't keep pace with the needs and the entities it oversaw. the system was neither agile enough nor properly equipped for protecting consumers. the financial crisis exposed subprime lending practices that preyed on the most vulnerable consumers. it uncovered obscene credit card contracts that put working families under water. and it found student loans that left our next generation more worried about their interest rates than about changing the world. the list goes on. the cfpb was our answer to these and perspective concerns. it is the only independent agency that is tasked with the

protecting consumers, our constituents. free from the political mele, this watchdog focuses on making sure that markets are fair and players follow the rules. the cfpb may not be perfect. undoubtedly missteps may occur. but that's why the agency is subject to regular audits and why the government maintains ways of addressing flawed rules. i'm willing and eager to work with my colleagues to improve the cfpb, to ensure that the american people are properly protected. but that's not what this bill does. this bill scraps the intention of the agency and re-exposes our family it's and our students to the same -- families and our students to the same unfair and undue risks we necessitated the agency's creation in the first place. i urge my colleagues to use this agency to help protect their constituents and to address their concerns. remember your constituents when you vote today. i ask my colleagues to join in opposition to this measure and

the underlying bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield four minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for four minutes. mr. duffy: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you to the gentleman from texas. listen, i'm hearing the arguments across the aisle about how the consumer financial protection bureau is protecting consumers and protecting america from unfair practices and risks in the financial sector. but i guess i would challenge my friends across the aisle to tell me, how is that mission of protecting consumers die looted if we go from -- diluted if we go from a single-payer to a commission which was originally their idea? how is this diluted if they go to a pay-scale set by congress and not by themselves? that doesn't impact their ability to work on consumer protection issues. why, why are consumer protection issues impacted if

we give a similar and sane voice to small community banks and credit unions, the same they've given to this bill in big wall street banks, you're still protecting consumers. there's nothing in here that prohibits the cfpb's ability to do their job. and finally, how are we hurting consumers by making sure that the cfpb asks them first before they get their information? i guess i haven't heard those comments being made. i'm hearing a lot of platitudes, a lot of comments at 30,000 feet that have nothing to do with the reform package that's here in the house today. i would enjoy hearing my friends across the aisle talk about what's actually in the bill. it's not immigration. it's protecting consumers from the cfpb. and you're bringing up issues, mr. speaker, they're bringing up issues that aren't relevant. one other issue i want to clarify, which is in regard to

personally identifiable information, two points. information has been very clearly made to us that, one, the cfpb isn't following the directive of the statute, number one. but number two, the amount of information that the cfpb has, the quantity, the amount, it's easily reverse engineered. simply re-engineered to find out who the individual is. so if i have your zip code plus four, your date of birth, your age, all of this information, i might not have your name, but in an instant i can get your name because i have all the data i need to do just that. that's not protecting consumers. so i think if you want to have a debate, a debate about protecting consumers and having an agency that's accountable to congress, i would love to have that debate. but when we bring up issues that aren't in the bill, it's pretty hard to have an honest and fair conversation about that, mr. speaker. with that i yield back to the chairman.

mr. sessions: reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. duffy is correct, immigration reform is not in the bill or the rule. it should be but it's not. we have another motion for something that should be in the bill, but is not. mr. speaker, last week we provided the house two opportunities to consider flood insurance reform, a bipartisan measure that now has almost 200 co-sponsors. but unfortunately it was denied. not only does this bill not have immigration reform, it also does not have flood insurance reform. today we're offering members another chance to put aside party politics and do something that's important for the american people. if we defeat the previous question i'll offer an amendment to the rule to bring up the bill that would delay flood insurance premium hikes and provide relief to thousands of american families. to discuss this proposal, i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. castor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for two minutes.

ms. castor: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my colleague from colorado for yielding the time. i rise to encourage all of our colleagues to vote no on the rule, no on the previous question, and on the underlying bill. it has been two weeks since the senate passed a bipartisan fix to the exorbitant rise in flood insurance rates across the country. but it has been particularly dismaying that in the past two weeks the g.o.p.-controlled house has not taken up the senate-passed bill or the house version to provide some relief for hardworking families across the country. . we're asking that members vote no so we can bring up the flood insurance bill. many have been working for many months. we've had bipartisan proposals here in the house. but for so reason the g.o.p. leadership has been resistant to bringing up this bipartisan

solution. i've offered an amendment on every piece of legislation passing through the rules committee since november on the -- for a flood insurance fix, but, again, the republicans have refused to make it in order. so our only -- without any scheduling of a bill, yet, we have to resort to going to the previous question. if we take a step back, flood insurance reform is very well-intentioned. the reform bill was passed in 2012, intended to make the trust fund -- the flood insurance trust fund solvent. especially after superstorm sandy, the flood insurance trust fund, that's the backstop to economic security for many families, was insolvent, so we came together, passed a reform bill. the problem is it hasn't been implemented in the right way. fema has actually implemented in an irrational way. it's not affordable. they have problems with mapping. it creates a very troublesome

path toward insolvency of the trust fund. people will not be able to pay into the trust fund like they should. what's happening? families are facing increased prices, inability to buy or sell homes -- mr. polis: i yield an additional minute. ms. castor: you how how the g.o.p. house gave the emergency aid when superstorm sandy hit. 179 republicans voted against the emergency aid so that makes it even more important that we fix the flood insurance trust fund so it's there for families who need it. last week i pointed out that many are very skeptical that the republicans in congress will act in support of the middle class, in support of small businesses across america. well, i ask my friends on the other side of the aisle, prove them wrong. let's come together. vote no on the previous question and let's move the flood insurance fix. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. wasserman schultz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for two minutes. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to follow-up on my good friend and colleague from florida's comments. on behalf of homeowners in south florida and around the nation who are trying to maintain affordable flood insurance coverage, and i urge the house leadership to bring the homeowner flood insurance affordability bill to a vote today. millions of homeowners benefit from the ability to purchase affordable coverage, including thousands of south from families. and while we understand the need to keep the national flood program financially stable, we must do so while ensuring that these families can afford the coverage on their homes or they won't have coverage. surging premiums destabilized

our recovering housing market. the system cannot withstand these increases and we must act to fix it. i want to thank my colleagues in the senate who in a bipartisan way passed this legislation and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who make up the 207 bipartisan co-sponsors here in the house of representatives who want to pass this bill into law. this is essential. we can't allow this to go on. mr. speaker, our nation's homeowners can't afford to wait any longer. we need to defeat the previous question and vote on this bipartisan agreement today. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i thank the gentlewomen who bring up this issue again. we spoke about this issue last week, how it is actually a $24 billion problem to the taxpayer. it is also equally a very difficult lift financially on the problems that is creating

o homeowners who live in flood areas, as was noted last week, fema did not complete their job. we have known about this. this is not a new issue and the numerous members of congress, republicans and democrats, are trying very difficult gently to work on this and have been. i want to acknowledge the work that has been put in by both these members and others, including the gentleman from florida, judge hastings, who sits on the rules committee, including the gentleman that sits -- and gentlewoman that sits on the committee from florida. there are 13 members who live in florida. this is a nationwide problem, wherever those people live, predominantly along coastal areas, we are working on it. but it's a $24 billion problem that was not addressed by the

senate. not addressed. and what we're trying to do is work with the chairman of the financial services committee, the gentleman, mr. hensarling, as well as the ranking member in the committee on getting an answer. and as i've stated to people numerous times, i do appreciate not only them keeping this issue in the forefront, but it is something we must address in the rules committee. we intend to do that. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. it's my honor to yield three minutes to the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman from colorado for yielding. i thank my colleagues from florida for being on the floor. and i rise to urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that

instead we can call up a bipartisan bill to alleviate the anxiety of millions of homeowners, flood-prone areas and their flood insurance premiums won't become simply unaffordable. should we do any less, twice already we've had the votes in this house to bring up this bill. a companion of which passed the senate with a bipartisan vote f 68-32 on january 30. there's no reason why this bill ouldn't pass overwhelmingly. once again partisan politics has wedged itself between congress' best intentions and the potential for achieving results. it's surprising that republican members from flood-prone districts have twice voted to block this bill from coming to the floor and to deprive their constituents of the assistance

they need and the reinsurance they deserve. -- reassurance they deserve. sometimes parties asks too much. sometimes party asks for votes which will hurt your constituents. rise above party and vote for your people. we should not repeat the overwhelming delay that occurred in supplying ssistance in response to superstorm sandy. after that they blocked disaster funding for more than 90 days. the continued obstruction of this bipartisan flood insurance bill is a continuation of that same trend of letting partisanship get in the way of doing what is right. i know there are many of my

colleagues on the republican side of the aisle that want to do what is right for their constituents. do not let party regularity dissuede you from doing you rom doing the right thing. -- disswayed you from doing the right thing. i ask you to set partisanship aside, working with us to defeat the previous question and allowing the house to vote on the grim -- grimm-waters legislation. a bipartisan piece of legislation that will make sure homeowners don't find themselves underwater in more ways than one. now, mr. speaker, i'm sure that the previous question -- what does that mean? our constituents, mr. speaker, must be watching. what's hoyer talking about? why are they always talking about a previous question? it's simply a vote by which it says if the previous question is not approved that we can

offer the bipartisan -- mr. polis: i yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. so we can offer the bipartisan legislation to give the relief that is so desperately needed now, not 90 days were now, now. so defeat this previous question, and my republican colleagues, if you care about your flood-ravaged and flood-risk constituents, vote no on the previous question. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland yields. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i'd yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i do appreciate the distinguished gentleman from maryland coming down, and once again, i would tend to not just acknowledge what the gentleman is asking for but i will speak to it. the problem is is that we have to worry about the solvency of the program.

the program is some $24 billion in the red right now, and not addressing its solvency and just to -- just to give some new program the life rather than fixing it correctly is where we politely disagree. we believe that the ability that we have in this congress with this issue is to do it right, where it's in the best interest of people back home that i care about, that every member of this body cares about, but also the financial integrity to the taxpayer, the national debt is a tremendous national embarrassment. and we are not going just waive $24 billion that will become a $50 billion problem. that's why we're trying to address the problem. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i'll yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from maryland. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding, and i share my friend's view that we need to be worried about the

solvency of our nation. we haven't done such a good job at that, and we're by the way going to have a bill on the floor pretty soon that won't do much for that either. somewhat irresponsibly, in my view. but the solvency that i'm worried about right now is the guy that lives on a $-- in a $195,000 with his family and has a $25,000 premium facing him, yearly, annual premium, it's going to make him move out of his home. but the problem he's going to have, nobody's going to buy his home. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. hoyer: we need to act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: i reserve my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. garcia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. garcia: i'd like to thank my colleague from colorado for yielding. i want to recognize precisely what the gentleman from maryland was talking about. i'd like to urge my colleagues

to vote no on the previous question so we can get to this important issue. and i appreciate the gentleman from texas' understanding of this, but i want to talk about the homeowners flood insurance affordability act, which is a bipartisan bill which would delay crippling premium increases that are affecting people throughout south florida and throughout the country. i want to talk about -- i don't want to talk about specific people. because of the raise of flood insurance rates, people are literally walking away from their homes. i recently spoke to derrick and menard. they had an increase because the property owner of where they rent put it on their bill. and so they could not afford to remain in south florida because it just got too expensive. after nine years of calling south florida home, they were forced to move away. they are now forced to find jobs where they moved to in

pennsylvania. they had to pull their little daughter, millie, out of school, and she had to change friends and neighborhood. mr. speaker, this is not right. and while i recognize the gentleman from texas wants to solve this, we have a bipartisan bill that was passed out of the senate. we can pass this out now and then get to working on this problem before we hurt more people, before we force more people to move away from their community, their friends, their loved ones due to these exosh tent insurance rates. exorbitant asons -- insurance rates. for these reasons, i ask my colleagues to defeat the previous bill and bring much-needed relief to policyholders. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields,. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i don't consider commence or the right thing to do $24 billion irresponsibility is once again

what the democratic party is pushing today on the floor of this house of representatives. i'd yield one minute to the gentleman from wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for one minute. mr. duffy: my friends are voting to vote against consumers having the cfpb collect financial data on them. i know my friends want to talk about flood insurance and we are no doubt going to have that conversation and it's important, but the bottom line today is the conversation today is that we protect consumers from having their information collected on them just like the n.s.a. is collecting phone records on americans. let's stand together. let's protect the middle class. let's protect small community banks and financial institutions, that's the vote today. stand with us, let's move the ball forward for middle-class, hardworking families who want to keep their information and their data to themselves and

let's move forward at a soon-to-be acknowledge on flood insurance. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. frankel. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. frankel: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this great country of ours has weathered hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and fires. now our families and florida and across the -- in florida and across the nation are cronlting a manmade cry sills -- are confronting a manmade crisis, created unintentionally by past acts of this congress. mr. speaker, an economic storm is brewing. just ask my constituents, the woodlaws, who live in a modest home in lauderdale by the sea. they've paid off their mortgage and now pay $2,400 a year in flood insurance. now, because of congress' past actions, they face a $12,000

bill for the same coverage that they cannot afford and now they are one flood away from financial disaster. our constituents, like the woodlaws, are facing skyrocketing jumps in flood insurance premiums unless we act now, mr. speaker, and take up the bipartisan homeowner and flood insurance affordability act. mr. speaker, a storm is brewing . thank you, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: i reserve the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from florida, my colleague on the rules committee, mr. hastings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. hastings: i thank my friend. i'd like to first say, and credit the chairman of the rules committee for having to address this problem. he has spoken about it to me and others. the same holds for my co-chair

of the florida delegation, vern buchanan. all of us in the florida delegation, minus one person, are supportive of this particular measure. here is an opportunity then for us to defeat the previous question and bring this matter up now. enough already of continuing to discuss it. we've had ample time to deal with this problem and don't forget, florida, among other states, is a donor state in this business. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: yes, mr. speaker, i have no further speakers at this time and i will choose to wait, reserve my time and close, thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman from colorado and the gentleman from texas. what we can do is really do our work and pass comprehensive

immigration reform to really deal with the pain of so many in this country. but i do believe that we should defeat the previous question so that my constituents in texas, along the coastline, can stop paying $8,000 in flood insurance. it is absolutely absurd. a bill has passed, we're ready to go. finally, mr. speaker, i think it is important that we discuss h.r. 3193, that wants to undo the corrections that we made to save america's jobs, homes, life savings and pensions when we reformed wall street. we believe in the capitalistic system, we just don't believe in the abusive capitalistic system and the consumer protection agency that has been put in place to help consumers with credit, credit cards and other matters dealing with their financial needs is now being imploded think about legislation. what do we have to say to speak for the people of the united states? effectively defending -- this bill effectively defunds the cfpb. what we want to do is continue

the consumer protection board, continue the leverage that is given to protect consumers. i have actually heard from consumers who have said thank you, we now have a board that will hear our voices and that will express our concerns with what kind of treatment we're getting from financial agencies. let's move on behalf of the american people now. not special interests. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i'm through with all my speakers and i would choose to reserve my time, letting the gentleman run down his time until i close. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i think it's been clear, and we actually have some bipartisan agreement here about what this bill lacks. this bill does not do anything about hundreds of people sneaking across our southern border every day. it does nothing to reunite american families. it does nothing to end over two

million deportations that have occurred during the obama administration. it also does nothing to address the imminent hikes in flood insurance that many americans, including americans in my home state of colorado, face if congress fails to act. so what does this bill, that has preempted congress, instead of dealing with illegal immigration, instead of dealing with flood insurance, what does this bill that we're here talking about do? it creates additional federal government bureaucracy it. takes one person's job -- bureaucracy. it takes one person's job and tushes -- turns it into a commission of five people who will endlessly debate things rather than decide things. what if one is sick? and there's four at work. and it's deadlocked 2-2? and then the other one comes in and one is missing because the appointment is held up do. we really need to have more government regulators in charge of this federal agency, mr. speaker?

that's exactly what this bill does. one person can do the job. how many companies in this country are ran by a panel of five co-c.e.o.'s? i don't know of a single one. not a single one. why would we want to run a federal agency like that? the gamesmanship that we're doing in this house while there's an important issue, like illegal immigration and flood insurance, is at a serious cost to the american people. the senate passed the bipartisan immigration reform bill last june. the house hasn't dedicated a single minute of legislative floor time to an immigration reform bill. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no and defeat the previous question so we can deal with one of these pressing issues that my colleagues from florida and other states have made a compelling case for here on the floor of the house today, to address flood insurance. and i also urge a no vote on

the rule. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i want to thank my colleagues from the democratic party for coming and once again offering their ideas about flood insurance. that's not part of the bill. i would simply reply to them, as i have previously, that the senate offered compromise or the senate offered language, spends $900 million more, does not take care of the $24 billion problem which is red ink that the taxpayer would ck up, which harms the solvency of the program. why have a government program that runs in the red and goes to $50 billion? that's not what we're going to do. we're going to come up with an answer in the house of representatives. i expect it to be done quickly. and we're going to do that. but today we're talking about the cfpb and americans have

witnessed firsthand the negative effects of the cfpb and we have looked at how this administration and one agency cannot only gather records but literally control a marketplace. i believe that what you have heard today lends us to understand that a balance of the cfpb is what's important. we brought five distinctly different bills to bear here. one of them saying that we should not have employees of the cfpb that are paid well outside of government -- normal government standards, where even an intern who serves for the cfpb makes over $51,000. mr. speaker, what republicans are trying to do is to balance the piece of legislation that passed this house with president obama, speaker pelosi , senator reid, we're trying to offer a balance to that on

behalf of the consumer, on behalf of a legislative process where members of congress and the financial services committee has an opportunity to work with any administration, not just the democrats, on what the policy of the cfpb would be. secondly, we think it's wrong that 900 million records, financial records, are taken without notice given to a consumer. we think that's not just an overreach, we think that's an abuse of power. when the government unilaterally has 900 million records, i would have to ask why. i support the rule, yes on the rule, yes on the underlying legislation, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair,

the ayes have it. mr. polis: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: on that i'd like to request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman -- are you asking for the yeas and nays? mr. polis: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , further proceedings on this question will be postponed.